The Chiefs, for tampering with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, were stripped of their third-round pick in 2016, their sixth-round pick in 2017 and fined $250,000. Chiefs coach Andy Reid was also fined $50,000 and then general manager John Dorsey fined $25,000.

The Chiefs were cited for “improper contact” before the start of free agency. Maclin played in Philadelphia for Reid before signing a five-year, $55 million deal with the Chiefs.

Minnesota did not file a complaint against the Falcons.

During Cousins’ introductory press conference on March 13, he seem to intimate that he spoke with the team’s athletic trainer and the head of public relations before signing with the club.

“There’s great people here,” Cousins said. “And it’s not just the football team. I mean, I’m looking at the support staff. Meeting – calling, yesterday, calling our head athletic trainer, talking to our head of P.R. I’m thinking, we got people here. And that’s exciting to be a part of.”

The league’s “legal tampering” period started at noon on March 11 and ended at 3:59 p.m. on March 13.

Under Article 9, Section 1(b)(iv) of the collective bargaining agreement, “a prospective UFA’s certified contract advisor is permitted to communicate directly with front office officials (excluding the head coach and all other members of the club’s coaching staff) of any or all new NFL clubs regarding contract negotiations.

“As a reminder, no direct contact is permitted between a represented player and any employee or representative of a club (other than his current club) during this period.”

The Falcons case doesn’t appear to rise to the level of the more recent tampering cases where the NFL suspended Miami owner Stephen Ross and fined him $1.5 million for tampering between Tom Brady and Sean Payton following a sixth-month investigation. The Dolphins case stemmed from Brian Flores’ racial-discrimination lawsuit against the league.

In 2023, the Eagles accused the Cardinals of tampering with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The Cardinals eventually hired him as their head coach. The two teams agreed to a settlement that called for the Eagles to trade the No. 94 pick in the 2023 draft and a 2024 fifth-round pick for the 66th pick in 2023.

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